What giants are planning for the China-US and European stablecoin regulatory bill?

Deng Tong, Golden Finance

What is the hottest track in 2025? It must be a stablecoin - Stablecoins are not only an important infrastructure for DeFi, but also a bridge between the traditional finance and the crypto world. The development of China, the United States and Europe in the stablecoin field is particularly worthy of attention. From the introduction of the bill to the entry of traditional financial giants, the development prospects of the stablecoin field seem to be on the verge of a thousand miles a day.

This article sorts out the progress made by China, the United States and Europe in the field of stablecoins, including regulatory bills and giants involved in stablecoins. Help readers clarify the development trend of stablecoins and present a more comprehensive development picture of the stablecoin track.

1. Review of the China-US European stablecoin bill

1. Hong Kong's Stablecoin Bill

On May 21, 2025, the Hong Kong Legislative Council officially passed the "Stablecoin Bill" in its third reading. This means that Hong Kong will formally implement stablecoin regulation. Anyone who issues fiat currency stablecoins in Hong Kong or issues fiat currency stablecoins that claim to anchor the value of the Hong Kong dollar in or outside Hong Kong must apply for a license from the Hong Kong Financial Management Commissioner. According to the current progress, the crypto industry may see the birth of a compliant Hong Kong stablecoin in the crypto industry before the end of 2025.

The main contents of the bill include: implementing a licensing system for stablecoin issuers, requiring issuers to obtain a license from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to issue fiat stablecoins or stablecoins claimed to be pegged to the Hong Kong dollar in Hong Kong; specific requirements are put forward for the management of reserve assets of stablecoins, redemption mechanisms, and the issuer's financial resources, appropriate candidates and risk management; at the same time, the scope of regulated stablecoin activities is also clarified, and consumer protection measures and the functions and powers of the HKMA are stipulated.

The significance of the "Stablecoin Bill": to enhance Hong Kong's position as a financial technology center; to promote financial innovation; to enhance market transparency and investor confidence; to align with international supervision; to promote the development of financial technology in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

For specific content, please click on the Golden Finance article "Hong Kong Compliant Stable Coin is Coming to Come and View its Process and Main Content"

2. The GENIUS Act of the United States

On June 17, 2025, the U.S. Senate passed the landmark GENIUS Act, which promoted the U.S. federal government's regulatory efforts on stablecoins and put pressure on the House of Representatives to plan the next phase of its national efforts to regulate digital assets. This is another major progress in the stablecoin field this year, following the passage of the Hong Kong Stable Coin Act.

The main contents of the bill include: prohibiting any non-"approved payment stablecoin issuer" from issuing payment stablecoins in the United States; defining "pay stablecoin" as a digital asset that maintains fixed value through fiat currency or other secure reserve support; imposing federal standards on institutions that are allowed to issue payment stablecoins, including full support for reserves, reserve isolation, monthly certification, and capital and liquidity requirements, and prohibiting remortgage; allowing state-regulated payment stablecoin issuers to issue stablecoins, provided that the applicable regulatory system is basically similar to the federal system; giving federal banking institutions the right to enforce the law on the approval of payment stablecoins, similar to Section 8 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act Articles shall have the powers of the depositary institutions and their holding companies and affiliates; provide customer protection standards for persons providing custody services for stablecoins approved for payment, including supervision and regulation, funding isolation, mixed prohibition standards and monthly audit reports of statutory reserves; prohibit federal banking institutions, NCUA and SEC from requiring custody assets to be considered liabilities. The bill also amended the federal securities laws, which clearly stipulate that payment stablecoins are not securities.

The significance of the GENIUS Act: to provide regulatory clarity; to lead the formulation of rules for the next generation of global financial system; to strengthen the global financial status of the US dollar, etc.

For specific content, please click on the Golden Financial article "What impact will the GENIUS bill be passed by the US Senate on the crypto industry"

3. European Crypto Asset Market Regulation (MiCA) Act

On June 30, 2024, the Crypto Asset Market Regulations (MiCA) came into effect. The MiCA Act aims to regulate the issuance and use of stablecoins through a unified regulatory framework, thereby promoting the healthy development of the stablecoin market and investor protection. Simply put, the MiCA stablecoin bill aims to provide a clear legal framework for stablecoins, ensuring their transparency, stability and security, and protecting against potential risks.

The main contents of the bill include: transparency and disclosure requirements for crypto assets to be traded on issuance, provision to the public and trading platforms; authorization and supervision requirements for crypto asset service providers, asset reference token issuers and electronic currency token issuers, as well as their operation, organization and governance requirements; protection requirements for holders of crypto assets to be traded to the public and trading; protection requirements for customers of crypto asset service providers; measures taken to prevent insider trading, illegal disclosure of internal information and market manipulation to ensure the integrity of the crypto asset market.

The significance of the Crypto Asset Market Regulations: Unify the European market; offshore companies will be restricted, EU companies will benefit; MiCA promotes institutional participation, and European banks accelerate their layout, etc.

For details, please click: "European MiCA Act 10,000-word research report: Comprehensive interpretation of the far-reaching impact on the Web3 industry, DeFi, stablecoins and ICO projects"

2. What companies are involved in the stablecoin field between China, the

United States and Europe?

1. The giants in China's stablecoin field

• JD.com:

On July 24, 2024, JD.com announced that it would issue cryptocurrency stablecoins pegged to the Hong Kong dollar (HKD) 1:1 in Hong Kong. According to the official website of JD Coin Chain Technology (Hong Kong), a subsidiary of JD Technology Group, the stablecoin is issued on public blockchain, and its reserves are composed of highly liquid and trustworthy assets that will be securely stored in independent accounts of licensed financial institutions and verify the integrity of the reserves through regular disclosure and audit reports. On July 18, 2024, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced the list of participants of stablecoin issuers, including JD Coin Chain Technology (Hong Kong).

Liu Peng, CEO of JD.com Coin Chain Technology, previously revealed that he will provide mobile and PC application products to retail and institutions, and the test scenarios mainly include cross-border payments, investment transactions, retail payments, etc.

On June 17, 2025, Liu Qiangdong, Chairman of the Board of Directors of JD.com, said in a sharing meeting that JD.com hopes to apply for stablecoin licenses in all major currencies in the world, and then achieve exchanges between global companies through stablecoin licenses, reducing global cross-border payment costs by 90%, and increasing efficiency to within 10 seconds. "Now, it takes an average of 2 to 4 days to remit money between enterprises, and the cost is quite high. After the B-side payment is completed, we will penetrate into the C-side payment. I hope that one day everyone can use JD stablecoin to pay when spending around the world."

For more content, please click "JD's stablecoin ambitions are not just cross- border payments"

• Ant Group:

On June 12, 2025, Ant International and Ant Digital Technology, a subsidiary of Ant Group, both plan to apply for stablecoin licenses in Hong Kong, China. This move marks another major manufacturer joining the stablecoin layout camp. Ant International responded that it will submit an application as soon as possible after the Hong Kong "Stablecoin Ordinance" comes into effect on August 1 and the relevant channels are opened. Ant International is accelerating investment and expanding cooperation in global asset management, and investing its AI, blockchain and stablecoin innovation in real and reliable large-scale applications."

Bian Zhuoqun, president of Ant Digital Technology's blockchain business, revealed that Ant Digital Technology has started applying for a Hong Kong stablecoin license and has conducted too many rounds of communication with regulators. It is understood that Ant Digital has listed Hong Kong as its global headquarters this year and has completed the first trial of the regulatory sandbox in Hong Kong.

This means that if the application of the two Ant companies above obtains regulatory approval, it means that another major Chinese technology company has deployed compliant stablecoin business in Hong Kong.

With its deep accumulation in the field of financial technology and extensive user base, Ant Group will successfully issue stablecoins in Hong Kong, it is expected to play an important role in cross-border payments, digital financial services and other fields, and promote the innovative development of Hong Kong and even the global stablecoin market.

For more content, please click "Ang's entry into stablecoin after Circle"

• Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong):

On February 17, 2025, Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), Animoca Brands and Hong Kong Telecom (HKT) announced the establishment of a joint venture to jointly develop a stablecoin pegged to the Hong Kong dollar. The cooperation will apply for a license from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), which plans to leverage Standard Chartered’s experience in stablecoin issuance and the achievements of the HKMA in tokenized currency projects. The joint venture will focus on developing stablecoin applications for local and cross-border payments. This move comes as Hong Kong continues to consolidate its position as a digital asset center, competing with Singapore in the region. The city has approved Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds and has implemented a strict cryptocurrency exchange licensing framework.

• Millet:

In July 2024, after the Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced the list of the first batch of stablecoin issuers, Tianxing Bank, a subsidiary of Xiaomi, announced that it had reached a stablecoin cooperation with JD.com's JD.com's JD.com's JD.com's JD.com's Coin Chain Technology, triggering the market's imagination about the layout of Web3 by major Internet manufacturers.

2. The giants in the stablecoin field of the United States

• Circle:

On June 4, 2025, Circle was listed on the New York Stock Exchange, which is also the first time the issuer of a stablecoin. Circle's stock price soared 168% on that day. As the second largest stablecoin issuer with market capitalization, Circle is regarded as the core player of cryptocurrencies moving towards mainstream payments and regulated finance. Since its listing on June 5, the company's stock price has accumulated a cumulative increase of more than 543%, from the issue price of $31 at the time of IPO to $199.59 at the close of Wednesday. Circle's growth strategy revolves around expanding its stablecoin network, focusing on creating global products that make USDC easy to access and use, and establishing partnerships with financial and tech giants.

Circle's business model is unique and essentially "interest-free debt arbitrage". It earns earnings from secured assets by holding USD cash and short-term Treasury bonds. As the Federal Reserve maintains a high interest rate environment, the annualized yield of USDC reserves exceeds 5%, bringing about $210 million in interest income to Circle in the first quarter of 2025 alone.

More content can be clicked: "Circle's listing triggers market stablecoins to become a new consensus between institutions and retail investors"

• Tether:

The USDT issued by Tether is the first mainstream stablecoin and is currently the largest stablecoin with market value. As of June 2025, its market value exceeded US$150 billion, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the global stablecoin market share. However, USDT issuer Tether has been questioned for years of transparency. Despite this, USDT still occupies an important position in the market. It is widely used in crypto asset transactions, solving the problem that most crypto asset exchanges cannot use fiat currency deposits and withdrawals due to low compliance and lack of support from the commercial banking system, and has become an important trading medium in the crypto asset field.

However, as supervision gradually strengthens, Tether is also facing increasing compliance pressure, and its future development trend in the stablecoin market is full of variables. For example, the GENIUS Act will weaken Tether's long-term dominance in the stablecoin field. According to Tether's latest quarterly reserve report (as of March 31, 2025), only 85% of USDT's reserves comply with the GENIUS Act's compliance standards and fail to meet the 1:1 full collateral ratio required for payment of stablecoins.

In addition, Tether's auditing agency BDO Italia is not a US certified public accounting firm, and its reserve reports do not comply with the audit standards stipulated by the US Public Companies Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). Even if Tether publishes monthly reports, its format cannot meet the GENIUS Act requirements. Once GENIUS becomes law, USDT will be excluded from the real-world financial system.

For more content, please click: Can the dominance of the stablecoin giant Tether withstand the test of the US stablecoin bill? 》

• WLFI:

On March 25, 2025, World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a decentralized financial company backed by Trump, announced the launch of the USD1, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. USD1 is 100% backed by US government short-term Treasury bonds, US dollar deposits and other cash equivalents. It is initially minted on Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain blockchains, and plans to expand to other protocols in the future, committed to maintaining 1:1 transactions with US dollar.

• PayPal:

On August 7, 2023, payment giant PayPal launched the US dollar-denominated stablecoin PayPal USD (PYUSD). PYUSD has attracted much attention as soon as it was launched. It is completely backed by US dollar deposits, short-term US Treasury bonds and similar cash equivalents, and can be exchanged 1:1 with the US dollar. PayPal CEO Dan Schulman said the transition to digital currencies requires stabilization tools, and PYUSD is in possession of this feature.

• Walmart, Amazon:

On June 13, 2025, the Wall Street Journal reported that Walmart and Amazon explored the issuance of their own stablecoins in the US market, or used for payment and settlement in their own merchant ecosystem. The move could transfer large amounts of cash and card swipe transactions out of the traditional financial system, reduce billions of dollars in handling fees and speed up payments, according to sources.

• JPMorgan Chase:

On June 18, 2025, Bloomberg reported that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will launch a token pilot called JPMD, which represents the world's largest bank's dollar deposits, indicating that financial institutions are further deepening their digital assets. A deposit token JPMD will be issued on a blockchain related to Coinbase. In the next few days, the bank will conduct a transaction to transfer a certain amount of JPMD from the bank's digital wallet to Coinbase Global Inc., the largest cryptocurrency trading platform in the United States, according to Naveen Mallela, global co-head of Kinexys, JPMorgan Chase blockchain unit.

3. European giants involved in stablecoin field

• Societe Generale:

On June 10, 2025, SG-FORGE (hereinafter referred to as "SG"), a cryptocurrency subsidiary of Societe Generale, announced plans to issue a publicly tradeable dollar stablecoin, and transactions are expected to start in July. As one of France's largest commercial banking groups, Societe Generale's move has attracted much attention. However, this is not the first time SG has issued a stablecoin, which launched the euro stablecoin in 2023, but has limited scope of adoption. After launching the US dollar stablecoin, SG will have two most important international currency stablecoins, the euro and the US dollar, at the same time, which enables it to provide customers with a more complete "fiat currency-digital asset" bridge service, meet complex needs such as cross-currency transactions, settlements, and hedging, and enhance the comprehensive attractiveness and stickiness of its digital asset platform.

• Deutsche Bank:

In June 2025, it was reported that Deutsche Bank was exploring innovative ways to integrate stablecoin technology into its business. Sabih Behzad, head of digital assets and currency transformation at the bank, revealed that the bank is considering launching its own stablecoin or establishing alliances within the financial industry. Deutsche Bank is considering creating a tokenized deposit system to simplify payment processes and improve transaction efficiency. The bank is also evaluating whether it is positioning itself as a reserve manager for digital assets, or issuing proprietary digital tokens.

• Santander Bank of Spain:

On May 29, 2025, according to Bloomberg, Spain's Bank of Santander SA plans to expand its digital asset business, with early plans including the launch of stablecoins and providing cryptocurrency services to its retail customers at Openbank. Sources revealed that the stablecoin plan is still in its infancy and Openbank has applied for a license to provide retail cryptocurrency services under the new EU regulatory framework.

• Revolut:

Fintech giant Revolut announced that it will invest in the stablecoin market after obtaining a UK bank license in July 2024. A company spokesperson said: He hopes to expand its cryptocurrency products and adopt a compliance-first approach to become a safe haven for the entire cryptocurrency community.

Source: Golden Finance, Ai Ying, Wall Street News, Bloomberg, Securities Times, Lianhe Zaobao, Sina Finance, etc.